Border tax idea dead, Arizona businesses elated

Trucks wait in a long queue for border customs control to cross into the U.S. at the Otay border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico.

By Ronald J. Hansen | The Republic

Republican leadership in Congress and the White House formally gave up pushing a border adjustment tax last week, dropping one of the more divisive elements of the party’s efforts at changing tax laws.

The idea, known as BAT, ran into stiff opposition from both giant retailers like Walmart and smaller Arizona businesses such as Accurate Signs and

Republicans suggested the border tax in 2016 as a way of taxing foreign goods to strengthen domestic production. Some type of BAT was seen as a key source of revenue to help offset tax cuts elsewhere, such as in the corporate income tax rate.

With that potential revenue now gone, lawmakers will face questions of whether any tax changes now would add to the nation’s debt or force deeper spending cuts.